Dashing to save the day
by Ethan Demas
Summary: It was never supposed to happen like this. He wanted to keep hem safe, but in the end he caused their deaths. Who will save them if he keeps on doubting himself? Danny Phantom can't help him out of this one, or can he?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my mini arc. It has character death, romance, comedy and heart ache. It goes with some of my stories where Dash is part of team Phantom. I hope you like this story, I try to make it as real as can.**

**I dont own anything.**

D-POV

I have stared at her since she came in here and sat down next to her brother. I could imagine myself combing her fiery red hair with my fingers, how soft it would be and how the sweet vanilla and apple scent of her shampoo would fill the air. I would want to cares her cheeks and wipe off the little bit of chocolate she gets in the crook of her lips. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny, caring and most of all a fighter.

3rd Person - POV

Kwan watched amusedly as a goofy grin spread across Dash's face, the one he gets when he fantasies about a certain red head. It was funny to see how the guy would go out of his way and walk her home and carry her books for her, but he reckoned it was just because he liked her. Now however Kwan saw his best friend was completely gaga for the girl. Paulina had asked him on a date, but he had turned her down, telling her that he was not the right person for her. Of course she had been infuriated, but Dash didnt care, he was too far into his love struck trance to do so.

Kwan quirked an eyebrow when he heard his friend growl, but the reason became obvious. Nick Grayson was standing next to her with a smirk on his face and she was blushing bright red. Her hand moved and placed some hair behind her ear, a tell tale that she liked the attention she was receiving. By the sound of the chair screeching next to him, Dash realized that as well. Kwan quickly got up and went after his friend before he could do something that he regrets. Dash was already there and stood protectively in front if her, arms crossed over his chest, sending Nick a death glare.

"What's it matter who I lake Baxter?"

"It matters when your a selfish jerk who would spread rumours around school about her. I know how you work Grayson." Dash spat at him.

"Why do you care all of a sudden? Last I heard, you were all for insulting the nerds."

"She is no nerd, and how dare you call her that?!" Dash lunged at Nick, but Kwan pulled him back quickly.

Nick snickered. "Oh, are we angry now?"

"I'm not angry, I'm furious!" he shouted.

Nick laughed and turned around, but both Kwan and Dash saw the glint in his eye, it promised something would happen to her. Dash ripped him from Kwans grasp and threw a punch to Nick, but he dodged it and retaliated with his own, hitting Dash square in the jaw.

"Mind your own business Baxter." Nick sneered and walked off.

Dash rubbed his sore jaw, and angrily grit his teeth. "Dash, are you okay?"

The jock turned and looked into the concerned blue eyes of his crush, her hand reached up to his cheek and he winced when she touched the sore spot. She frowned at that, and it made his heart flutter to think that she cared about him. Her hand took his and he could help but notice how warm and soft it was, fitting snugly into his own. She had pulled him to the nurses office to get some ice put in his jaw.

"Don't worry about me Dash, but thank you." she said and quickly give him a peck on the cheek and left.

His whole face reddened at the action, his heart beat faster than a cheetah could run, while a goofy smile made its way on his face. If he were connected to a heart monitor it would probably going over 135 beats per minute at that moment. Placing a hand on his cheek were she kissed him, he sighed dreamily. A sudden flash of light brought him out of his daze.

"Wow, I bet I could get a lot for this photo." Kwan said mischievously.

"Hey! Delete that photo!" "Hmm, let me think about it." Kwan rubbed his chin win a thoughtful expression. "Nope, it's too valuable to just delete."

"Kwan..." Dash growled out.

"Yes Dash?" he asked innocently.

"Ugh, fine! Maybe we should just show the world your baby photo's."Dash smirked.

Kwan's eyes widened in horror. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh I would..."

He huffed out a breath. "Fine you win."

Pretending to delete the photo, he sent a copy to his other mobile then delete it. Kwan then turned back to his friend, his happy-go-lucky attitude changed in a second, replaced by a serious and calculated expression. Dash had only seen that expression twice, the first time they were held hostage at a bank and Kwan took down the two robbers and the time he saved a girl from being raped in an alley.

"He is going to do something Dash, it is not like him to leave things just like that, you know it."

Dash nodded. "I know, but what would he do? I never liked him, he always had this twisted sick outlook of life."

"I don't know, but you do realise what is at stake don't you?"

"Yes, but how do we keep him from it and keep them from being suspicious?"

"I don't know, but we have to make sure this doesn't get out of hand. That bastard nearly killed Harvey, luckily he survived. Nick's parents denied everything and claimed he was at home, but that smirk he gave when his parents said that... Damnit, I hate that bastard." Kwan said with gritted teeth.

"Now he is going after Jasmine and her brother. Danny isn't in a lot of danger since he would be mostly focused of Jasmin."

"I know, but lets head to class. We can ask Star to keep an ear out, you know she hates Nick's guts and would do anything to help take him down."

Dash nodded and followed Kwan to AP Math class. They asked Valerie, Star and Mikey to meet them after school, Dash knew Valerie had dated Danny. He supported her decision, but when she broke it off because of her ghost hunting he tried reasoning with her. Of course this made Valerie look at him in a new light, but she never let anybody know of that. Something Dash was thankful for. The trust however means that she would also help him to protect them.

AP Math had gone by rather quickly, after which they had English. As usual Danny was late for class and he had a bruise on his arm in the shape of a hand. Kwan narrowed his eyes when a smirking Nick happened to enter the class a few minutes after Danny. They were sure the bruise had something to do with Nick. They would have to wait until after class before they could figure out if their suspicions are correct.

After class, Dash and Kwan confronted Danny, but the boy said it wasn't Nick. He wasn't nervous or fidgeting when he said that, so they knew he was telling the truth, but that raised a few questions, where did that bruise come from and who made it? The pair of jocks then met with the three friend they trusted to help them keep the Fenton siblings safe.

"Dash, Kwan said you wanted to tell us something?" Asked Star

He nodded, his face showed anger and a hint of fear. "I had a confrontation with Nick during lunch. He was trying to get Jasmine to go out with him. I stopped him, but the way he looked at her when we left... It was the same way he looked at Harvey."

Star growled her eyes flashed with anger and worry. "Has he done anything yet?"

"No, thought, it seems like he is following Danny." Kwan replied

"What?! What did Danny ever do to him?" Valerie asked.

"Nothing, the fact that he can hurt Danny and in turn Jazz is what he is after. He would indirectly be playing with Dash, slowly making you more angry." Mikey said.

"That is just sick." Star said.

"I know, all this just to get to Dash? No, there is something we are missing here, he wouldn't do something like that unless there is something in it for him." Kwan commented.

They nodded and decided they would keep an eye and ear out. Dash would walk Jasmin home, they would try to keep Danny out of harms way. Dash however frowned, the bruise on Danny's arm and Nick smirking like that... There was a hidden agenda there somewhere, but he just couldn't find it. Nick probably had someone beat Danny up while he watched from somewhere.

**Review please! I would love to know your thoughts on this. It is darker than my normal stories thought.**


	2. chapter 2

Since last week, the A-listers had been paying keen attention to Danny and his friends, often talking for a second then dissapearing the next. Dash had opened the lockers he was stuffed in twice now, and Valarie seemed to talk to him more often, sometimes even have lunch with him and his friends. Mikey was the strangest, when he was supposed to be partnered with Nick for a task because he wasn't in class at the time, he volunteered to be his partner leaving Nick without a partner.

"Danny, tell me I am not the only one seeing some of the A-listers helping you..." Tucker asked with a shocked expression.

"Your not Tuck, and to be quie honest with you, I dont get it either." Danny replied

"A ghost might be possesing them. Tryig to get to you Danny."

"Maybe, but wouldn't my ghost sense have gone off then?" He asked sceptically.

"I don't know, remember that time with Paulina? It didn't go off..." Sam reasoned

The trio proceeded to go to their lunch table and have lunch, clueless as to what was happening aeound them. Nick walked over to heir table with a sick grin on his face, two guys on his flanks. He smashed his fist onto the table gaining he whole cafeterai's attention.

"Fenton! What are you doing?" He asked out loud.

"Uhm... Eating lunch I guess."

"WRONG!" Nick shouted and grabbed a hand full of Danny's hair and shoved his face into his food, spreading his face in the food. Laughing while he did so, he took a bottle of soda and soaked Danny with it. Suddenly his face got closely aqquinted with a sneaker as Kwan kicked Nick hard enough to send him crashing into another table. Valarie quickly gave the one jock that flanked Nick a hard jab in the stomach, crippling him, while Star gave an equilly powerful kick to the other's side.

Sam and Tucker was still frozen in shock of what Nick had just done, then when the other three helped Danny, they almost fainted from shock. They looked up ans saw Kwan and Mikey toss the three out of the cafeteria before they returned to Danny who was being cleaned up by Star and Valarie. Finnaly getting out of their stupor they went over to Danny.

"Tell Dash to get Jazz here. We should tell them before this gets out of hand." Star told Mikey.

"I already called him over. He just waited for Jazz to get out of class." Kwan replied.

Tucker, Sam and Danny were confused. They knew Dash had a HUGE crush on Danny's sister and hat he was a bit protective of her, which was odd. The A-listers suddenly taking intirest in Danny and helping him out was odd, and with what they just said, it seemed really suspisiuos to them. The ghost theory seemed more and more likely by the second.

"Okay, what the HELL is going on here?" Asked an irritated Sam.

"We will explain when Dash and Jazz get here. Though I think we should probably move somewhere a little bit more private for this conversation." Mikey suggested.

The two girls nodded and dragged the trio out, meeting Dash on the way telling him to follow them. They walked out and got in Mikey's SUV and drove out of school, having sent the teachers a message saying they are takig the Fentons and his friends wih them. They arrived at Dash's house, tugging the confused four inside with them.

"What happened?" Was Dash's firat question.

"Attacked Danny in the caf. Good thing Jazz wasn't there yet, otherwise he would have done much worse to her." Kwan informed his friend. "But that's not why we're here. We need to tell them Dash, we know your trying to protect them from him, but it would be easier if you tell them."

Dash sighed and nodded. "Since that already happened, I might as well. You guys should take a seat, every one of you. Kwan will fill in what I miss."

"Two years ago, Nick got insulted by Harvey and had been laughed at by the whole school. He had this look on his face, it promised pain and death. Only 4 days had passed when he attacked Harvey on his way home. He left they guy near dead, almost all of his bones were broken and he had cracked his skull. Harvey went into a coma, and hadn't woken up since.

"Later that same month a large gang fihht had broke out just outside of the Amity Park in Willow Ridge. He had been one of the gang leaders and killed a few of the rival gangs members. It was on the news, and he had went to court, pleading that he was being forced into the gang. We know the truth, that bastard lied and killed for the sick pleasure of it.

"When I stopped him last week, he had that same look he gave Harvey. I got them to help protet you two from Nick and his gang, but Mikey was right, it would have been easier if we told you from the start."

"Besides that, Dash had been tryig to find enough evidence to have Nick locked up, but his parents make everything dissappear with their money. It's frustrating, knowing what you do, because the one guy who told you about Nick's true colors suddenly died in a car accident." Kwan added.

The rest of the group sat and slowly digested the information the two jocks had given them. Danny was slightly panicked, this guy could discover his secret and he was a murderer. Thinking back to the what happened earlier, he realised that if he didnt have his abilities, he would have choked on the food. The rest of the group was scared of what Nick had done and what he would do.

"What do we do?" Asked Jazz.

"I have no idea Jasmine." Dash said. "Maybe Phantom could help us. You three seems close to him."

They nodded and stood up leaving. Tucker, Sam and Danny already at he door, but Jasmine lstayed behind for a second.

"We'll ask him when we see him again Dash. Thanks for everything." Jazz said and gave him a hug and peck on the lips, before leaving with Danny and his friends.

Dash stood there stuttering like and idiot and blushing. Smilling all the while, causing the others to laugh at his idoitic look. Kwan smiled, he knew Dash would never had made a move, but Jazz had just made it for him, telling his friend it was okay. A chuckle from two girls brought the jock from his musings.

"I never thouht I sould see the day The Mighty Dash Baxter gets urned into a pubble of mush by a simple peck on the lips." Valerie commented, Star nodded in agreement sniggering.

"Well, this wouldn't be the first time it happened. Well, except last time it was a peck on the cheek, bt he had the same reaction." Kwan said nonchacalantly.

"What? When!" Star asked excitedly.

"Right after the standoff in the cafeteria the first time. She took him to the nurses office and thanked him with a peck to the cheek." He eplained.

Star and Valerie gave each other wide predatory grins with viscous glints in their eyes. The look was one of the few Kwan had leant to fear, because it usaully ment painful feet from hours of boring shopping trips and carrying bags. If he didn't want to go, the dreaded puppy dog eyes would be used againt him. He needed to get out of here and FAST.

Suddenly his phone "rang" and he answred it. "Hey Kwan here."

The jock acted for a minute, before saying "Sure, be over in a bit." and "ended" the call. He stood up saying his goodbyes, but before he could get out the door, an arm coverd in bangles stopped him from exiting. Valerie stood blocking his exit with a smile on her face.

"Where do you think you are going?" She asked.

"To go get my little brother from school, he's sick." Kwan replied without missing a beat.

"Oh really? Since when does your little brother's school call you when he is sick? You don't even have a car..." she countered.

"I would have went home to get my car..."

"Well, that sounds reasonable, however, nobody actaully talked back to you and you just played your ringtone. Come on Kwan, we know that tactic, you use it everytime to get out of class when you don't feel like sitting there."

"Uhm..."

"Just like I thouht. You just wanted to bail on me and the gang."

"Nooooo, no, no, no what gave you that prepoaterous idea?"

Valerie only give him a look and he sighed in defeat and went back in, plopping down next to Mikey, who chuckled. The other jock knew it was hopeless to fight against the female gender when they had shopping in mind, not that they didn't try... He had even tried the I am gay excuse, but that had backfired and sent them on a frenzy, he suddenly shivered at the memory. He still regretted that too this day.


End file.
